Summer2006

I suspect that most of you share thefrustration of many of us inside theLaw School over the seeming difficul-ty of improving our national rankingsin U.S. News and World Report.

We are committed to constantlyimproving the intrinsic quality of theschool, not for the sake of rankings,but for the underlying ambition topursue excellence relentlessly in allwe do.

Yet the rankings of our LawSchool do matter, much as the stockprice of a company matters. We takethe rankings seriously and have fierceambitions to advance both the

underlying quality and the external rankings of theLaw School.

I know of nothing in our basic “fundamentals”that would prevent us from being ranked among thetop 25 law schools in the country. We have takenmany concrete steps toward improving the LawSchool. These steps are part of our strategic plan,which is well on the way to implementation. We are:1) adding 12 new faculty positions; 2) doubling ourfinancial aid award structure; 3) opening new aca-demic centers specializing in discrete areas such asintellectual property law, environmental law, interna-tional law, family law, and health law; 4) devoting sub-stantial resources to marketing efforts; 5) continuingto improve the entering credentials of students; 6) expanding our commitment to pro bono service,and 7) completing a building addition that will housethese expanded programs.

In recent years we have hired nine new facultymembers at the entry, middle, and senior levels. Theseare people with stature and records equivalent to

Talking frank about rank

Dean’s letter

those working at law schools ranked among the top25-50 in the nation. Our faculty’s publication record inrecent years is exemplary, including articles in thenation’s most prestigious law reviews, such as Penn,Chicago, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, Southern Cal,and Columbia, to name a few. Our student bodyalready ranks in the top tier in the nation by manyobjective measures.

Yet we are impatient with the lag in the time ittakes for these improvements to be recognized in thenational marketplace.

One way to close that gap is to send our faculty tonational forums, and to bring academics and jurists ofnational stature to campus to see first-hand the qual-ity of our operation. We also are working to improveour Web site and other publicity efforts.

Candidly, an enormously important element inthis will be fundraising and public relations, and wespend ever-increasing energy on those efforts. Muchof what it takes to continue to improve our quality,such as paying the salaries to attract national playersin legal education to the faculty, adding to our stu-dent financial aid, finishing our building addition, andspending the sums necessary to herald our accom-plishments, requires additional resources.

Keep the faith! Keep your conviction in the essen-tial American optimism that quality will win out, andexcellence will be rewarded. We are a school with aproud and wonderful history and a bright future. Ourrankings will catch up with our intrinsic quality, andcontinue to advance as our quality improves.

Rodney A. SmollaDean, School of Law

Summer 2006 3

FOR THE RECORD

Justice Lemonspresented GreenAward

Justice Donald W. Lemons of theSupreme Court of Virginia was pre-sented the William Green Award forProfessional Excellence at a luncheonin March.

Lemons, who serves as JohnMarshall Professor of Judicial Studiesat the Law School, was recognized forwhat Dean Rodney A. Smolla called “alife in pursuit of excellence” in schol-arship, ethics, professionalism andservice.

Like previous winners of the LawSchool’s most prestigious award,Lemons has engaged in “a ceaselessstruggle to realize [his] own poten-tial,” Smolla said.

The award was presented duringthe 23rd annual Scholarship Luncheonat the Jepson Alumni Center, wherethe school also recognized scholarshipdonors and recipients.

In his remarks, Lemons saidlawyers and judges in America holdsociety together, sometimes well andother times not so well. By educatingthe best and brightest in civility andprofessionalism, the Law School playsa valuable role.

The award is named in honor ofJudge William Green, one of the origi-nal members of the faculty of the LawSchool, who gave an eloquent addresson professionalism at the Law School’sopening session on Oct. 10, 1870.

A look at the people, events and issues making news at the Law School

AWARD

FOR THE RECORD

Attending the Law School has “honed and refined yourintellect and your character,” Frederick G. Rockwell IIItold graduates in the class of 2006.

Rockwell, L’79, a judge in Chesterfield, Va., and anadjunct faculty member, said in his commencementaddress that he remembers the passion, zeal andenthusiasm of being a law student, and he promisedthe graduates that “it’s going to work out for you” as ithas for countless other graduates.

He said he expects the graduates to have animpact on their communities that will be “significant,due in large measure to the three years you spent atthis institution.”

Dean Rodney A. Smolla presented theschool’s Distinguished Alumni Medal to

Rockwell.Donta’e Bugg of Newport News,

Va., was the student speaker. Hetold his classmates that each hadsomeone at home who supported

them through the rough periods.“Their level of excitement today is

through the roof,” he said. He encouraged the gradu-ates to be “mentors and role models” and to work hardto break down stereotypes.

Faculty speaker John G. Douglass told the gradu-ates that just as the Wizard of Oz gave the gift ofinsight to Dorothy and her friends, “education is aboutfinding and using what’s been in you all along.”

Kristi Cahoon of Scarborough, Maine, received theNina R. Kestin service award as special recognition for“extraordinary contributions” during her years at thelaw school. (See related story, next page.) KennonPoteat III of Danville, Va., received the Cudlipp and J.Westwood Smithers medals for having the highestcumulative grade point average at the end of the sec-ond and third years. Steven Buckingham of Gray, Tenn.,received the Charles T. Norman award given by the fac-ulty to the best all-around graduating student.

There were 153 students in this year’s class.

Graduate to establish non-profit in WashingtonAfter graduation, most law students move on to clerkships,established firms or corporatesuites. Kristi Cahoon, L’06, willmove into borrowed office spacein Washington, D.C., where she willlaunch single-handedly a non-profit organization to work withcancer patients.

Cahoon, who was honored atcommencement for her extraordi-nary contributions, says her inspira-tion as well as significant support for herwork came from professors and programsat the Law School.

“Until I took professor [Ann] Hodges’course on nonprofits and the law, I reallyhadn’t found anything in law school thatexcited me,” Cahoon says. That course ledto further study at the PhilanthropyInstitute, and work with LINC (LegalInformation Network for Cancer) and theMid Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center. “Irealized this was something I was reallyinterested in, and I had a lot of knowl-edge I thought I could bring to it.”

This summer, she will move toWashington—a city with a high rate ofcancer and a large low-income popula-tion—where she will establish CAN, theCancer Assistance Network. She willexchange expertise for office space atKARAMAH: Muslim Women for HumanRights, a non-profit founded by professorAzizah Y. al-Hibri. Her first task will bewriting grant applications and seekingfunding and volunteer lawyers to workwith cancer victims who need legal help.

In addition to Hodges and al-Hibri,Cahoon says her Richmond classmates“have been most supportive, signing upfor my mailing lists and offering theirexpertise.

“It’s nerve wracking, but with thisgreat group in your corner, it’s a lot easier.”

Intellectual PropertyInstitute expands opportunitiesBeginning in the 2006-2007 academicyear, the Law School will offer a certifi-cate in intellectual property through itsIntellectual Property Institute.

Certificate students will learn the fun-damentals of intellectual property lawand can then choose advanced coursesthat provide in-depth training in specific IP subjects, including patent andcopyright law, computer law, entertain-ment law and trademark law.

The Law School also is developingways to provide students with practicalexperience by working with attorneys,judges, local businesses, and public insti-tutions on intellectual property issuessuch as technology transfer and patentprosecution. The institute is exploringthe potential for a “virtual clinic” thatwould provide services to clients hun-dreds of miles away without having toleave school.

The institute’s mission is to create anactive scholarly program of conferencesand publications focusing on contempo-rary intellectual property issues arising in the context of intellectual propertyprotection in the digital age.

Law graduates will have ‘significant’ impact

Commencement speakers(from left), Judge Frederick G.Rockwell III, L’79, ProfessorJohn G. Douglass, Donta’eBugg.

Dean Smolla with Kristi Cahoon.

Donald W. Lemons

Summer 2006 54 RICHMOND LAW

FOR THE RECORD

Academic Festival 2006Three days of theory, practice and serviceFrom March 29-31, the University ofRichmond School of Law hosted sym-posia, films, lectures, and panel discus-sions during Academic Festival 2006:Living Greatly in the Law.

The festival offered programs thatintegrated legal theory, practice and pub-lic service in a forum that attracteddiverse audiences from the Universityand surrounding communities.

From frank talk about Iraq, to a docu-mentary film on the death row reprieveof inmates in Illinois, to vigorous debatesover teaching evolution, and protectingjournalists’ sources, the festival rolledthrough a range of issues that are in thepublic eye today.

Iraqi ambassador believeswar ‘Will be judged veryfavorably’Iraq’s ambassador to the United Statesdescribed Iraq under Saddam Hussein as“home to 25 million people, all of whomwere hostages to his regime.” The UnitedStates’ removal of Saddam “was right and in the interest of the Iraqi andAmerican people.”

But the American intervention “was

not managed very well,” Samir ShakirMahmood Sumaida’ie said in a carefullystated but unscripted discussion duringthe academic festival.

After the successful invasion of Iraq,the United States and its allies “failed todo the simplest and most obvious thingsthat accompany a change in regime,” hesaid. “It was perplexing to Iraqis that theworld’s greatest power could be soincompetent.”

Among the earliest mistakes, he citedthe failure to impose a curfew and thedisbanding of the police and army, whichleft cities open to looting, lawlessnessand an emboldened insurgency.

“It was incredible to believe.”Dean Rodney A. Smolla introduced

the ambassador, describing him as “anextraordinarily reflective and thoughtfulleader” during “an extraordinary period inthe history of our countries.”

Sumaida’ie’s appearance was spon-sored by the Law School’s Journal ofGlobal Law and Business.

Naomi Andrews, the journal’s editor,outlined Sumaida’ie’s successful career,which includes founding a computerdesign firm that did business in Pakistanand Saudi Arabia, and an investment con-sulting firm based in Beijing. Prior to theremoval of Saddam Hussein and theBaathist regime, Sumaida’ie was active inopposition efforts in the United Kingdom.

After Saddam’souster, Sumaida’ie was amember of Iraq’s InterimGoverning Council andhelped write its newconstitution. He hasserved recently as Iraq’sambassador to theUnited Nations.

In opening remarks,Sumaida’ie said he wouldnot read a statement butthat he hoped to open adialogue to help explaina situation “that mustappear perplexing to many of you.”

Americans, he said, must be askingmany questions regarding Iraq: Did wedo the right thing? Where is this head-ing? Have we helped win the battle overinternational terror or have we createdmore terrorists? Is there civil war? Havethe Iraqi’s benefited from the interven-tion? What will this cost the UnitedStates? What will be its benefits?

He covered many of those topics ashe fielded questions for more than anhour. His appearance drew the largestcrowd of the three-day festival in March,filling the Moot Courtroom. He was greet-ed by sustained applause.

Sumaida’ie painted a vivid picture ofIraq under Saddam, whom he describedas a “despotic tyrant and absolute dicta-tor,” who controlled the lives of everyIraqi including those, like himself, whoescaped the country only to fear for thewelfare of relatives, friends, and country-men back home.

He compared the Baathist regime tothe mafia, saying it looted the nation’swealth while intimidating the peoplethrough ruthless applications of power.

For too many years, the United Statesand Europe allowed Saddam to stay inpower, Sumaida’ie said. “It was not incon-venient for the U.S. and Europe to havehim in place, particularly during theIranian revolution.”

But the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

changed that, and inter-vention finally came.

“In 20 or 30 years,people will look backand judge in historicperspective,” he said. “Ibelieve this event will bejudged very favorably.”

He expressed guard-ed optimism at Iraq’sfuture, while praisingthe heroism of peoplethere today who are trying to live ordinarylives in extremely hard

circumstances.Unlike the years under Saddam, he

said, “At least there is hope. Iraqis believethe future will be more bright. This isremarkable in the face of what’s going on.”

He was encouraged by the progressthat is taking place on the politicalfront—70 percent turnout in elections,work toward formation of a constitution-al government and approval of a perma-nent constitution.

Of the insurgency, he said, “Saddam’sregime was toppled but not defeated.”Truckloads of cash and tons of weaponswere taken to fuel the fight.

The invasion has attracted terrorists,including al-Qaida, from all over theworld. Organized crime moved into thesecurity vacuum in Iraq and has thrived.And a “sprinkling” of insurgents havecome in from foreign neighbors, particu-larly Iran and Syria.

He said much of Iraq was never seg-regated before the regime was toppled.People from various sects got along andoften intermarried.

Now, some of these communitybonds are dissolving in the face of sectar-ian attacks by the insurgency, he said.

Asked how the invasion can be justi-fied in light of international principals ofsovereignty and non-interference,Sumaida’ie said that in the world today,there is a new principal at work: the right to protection.

Former attorneygeneral slamshearings

Former U.S. Attorney General EdwinMeese decried the harsh tone ofattacks on judicial nominees in recentCongressional hearings during aspeech at the University in February.

Meese, who served as attorneygeneral under President RonaldReagan, was particularly critical of left-leaning interest groups and senatorswhose attacks were directed at nomi-nees who favored judicial restraint.

The Federalist Society at the LawSchool sponsored Meese’s appear-ance, which drew a crowd of morethan 100. Meese’s speech was titled“The Constitution, the Courts and theCongress.”

Meese said the nominations of jus-tices John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A.Alito Jr., prompted ad campaigns, ral-lies and competing news conferencesthat were more like political cam-paigns than Congressional hearings.

He said the hearings often seemedmore focused on intimidation andcharacter assassination than on con-firming qualified nominees.

Meese also said the attacks againstjudges who approach the Constitutionwith restraint were misguided. TheConstitution is not a “trampoline” forjudges to jump off in any direction.

“Since 2001,” he said, “the attackson judges who are faithful to theConstitution have been systematic,prolonged and particularly vicious,”and not typical of past confirmations.

SPEAKER

New associatedean is ‘Emmy’winner

Roberta Oster Sachs joined the LawSchool this summer as the associatedean for external relations. Sachscomes from Tufts University, whereshe was director and senior lecturer ofthe Media and Public ServiceProgram, a creative and innovativeprogram that has received accoladesfor its media and outreach efforts.

A graduate of GeorgetownUniversity, Sachs earned a masters ofpublic administration from the John F.Kennedy School of Government atHarvard University. She received aKnight Fellowship at StanfordUniversity, which included coursework at the Stanford Law School.

She has worked as a producer forNBC News, CBS News, and ABC News,as well as New York’s Channel OneNews. She won an Emmy Award for aprofile on blues legend BB King thatshe produced with Ed Bradley at CBS.

In announcing Sachs’ appoint-ment, Dean Rodney A. Smolla said hehopes she will help create promotion-al efforts in a variety of print and elec-tronic media that will improve peer-assessments, admissions, fundraising,alumni relations, and career services.

“I am confident that she will pro-vide us with much-needed skills in ourefforts to boost our reputation, sothat the high quality of our faculty,students, and academic and serviceprograms are better projected intothe marketplace,” Smolla said.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

FOR THE RECORD

��

Sumaida’ie

Roberta Oster Sachs

The play “TheExonerated,” which wasperformed in March atthe Modlin Center forthe Arts, explored the true stories of sixinnocent survivors ofdeath row and issuessurrounding the deathpenalty. The Law School sponsored the performance.

Cour

tesy

of T

he A

ctor

s’ G

ang

Edwin Meese


FOR THE RECORD

president of the University of Wales, isknown for his “enormous influence” onCambridge University, Dean Smolla said.Williams was that great university’s “firstmodern president,” serving as vice chan-cellor for seven years of “transformativechanges there.”

Williams spoke of significant consti-tutional change and turmoil in Britainover the past 35 years resulting fromdomestic and international terrorism,constitutional experiments, human rightslegislation, the new prominence of thejudiciary, and attempts to alter the struc-ture of the houses of Parliament.

He said American support has longbeen important to Ireland and, therefore,influential in those debates. “Expatriationof millions of Irish has created a powerfulIreland beyond the Atlantic,” he said.

The Austen Owen Lecture is endowedby family and friends of Judge Owen.

Jury system works despitepressuresIn John Grisham’s bestseller Runaway Jury,one character says ominously, “Trials aretoo important to be left up to juries,” andthe manipulation and skullduggery begins.

But in reality, most Americans havefaith in the jury system and see jury serv-ice not as a burden but as an importantcivic duty, a recent Harris poll shows.

The evolution, impact and future ofthe jury system was up for discussion dur-ing the academic festival in a program

titled, “Reining in a RunawayJury: Insights and Tactics.”

Three panelists offeredinsights: Donelson R. Forsyth,holder of an endowed chairin ethical leadership at theUniversity’s Jepson School ofLeadership Studies; Jeffrey T.Frederick, nationally recog-nized trial consultant andauthor of Mastering Voir Direand Jury Selection; and PaulaL. Hannaford-Agor, director

For example, the international community should have intervened inRwanda, he said. “Despotic rulers cannotterrorize the population,” attack theirneighbors and develop weapons of massdestruction, as Saddam had in the past,without fear.

Sumaida’ie told the audience thatthe worst thing the United States coulddo now is to withdraw its forces sudden-ly. That would create a vacuum and leadto a defeat “of spectacular scale” for Iraq,the region and the United States.

A terrorist victory would have reper-cussions in the Middle East and aroundthe world for generations.

Sumaida’ie described Iraq as a nationof considerable resources and talent,though many potential leaders fled thecountry during Saddam’s reign. Once theviolence is under control and the politicalsituation stabilizes, the nation’s infra-structure, including its vast oil industry,can be rebuilt. Iraqis who fled will returnto help create “a model country in theMiddle East and in the world.”

Irish history providesconstitutional perspectiveThe British constitution has been“stretched and scarred” over the past 125years by Irish events. Today, Ireland contin-ues to play an important role in constitu-tional change in the United Kingdom.

This complex, often violent historyand its interplay with modern issues wasthe subject for the annu-al Austen Owen LectureMarch 29. Legal scholarand educator Sir DavidWilliams delivered thelecture as the openingevent in the three-dayacademic festival. Thetitle of his lecture was“Ireland 1880-2005: AConstitutionalPerspective.”

Williams, who is

of the Center for Jury Studies, NationalCenter for Courts in Williamsburg.

Their appearance was sponsored bythe Emroch Lecture Series, which wasestablished by the late Emanuel Emroch,R’28 and L’31, his family and friends.

In an overview of research on juries,Forsyth said the design of juries usuallyworks well in achieving a correct verdict.Despite the 12 Angry Men myth, “groupstend to hold pressures in check” so onejuror is unlikely to sway the others, he said.

Juries are usually successful becausethey are relatively anonymous, not madeup of experts, and don’t have to worktogether in the future, he said. An extreme-ly cohesive group is more likely to make amistake than a less cohesive group.

In cases where juries make mistakes,there often is a misunderstanding onpoints of law, a lack of fair representationof the broader community, or anextremely cohesive group whose mem-bers are reluctant to disagree.

When IP rights threaten creativityWhen the law and creativity collide,“there aren’t any black and whiteanswers,” according to television execu-tive, screenwriter, producer and educatorDavid Sontag.

Finding the difference between“walking the line and crossing the line” isbecoming more and more difficult in thisage of technology, litigiousness andmedia convergence, Sontag said.

Now director of the Writing for the

Screen and Stage program at theUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill,Sontag entertained his audience withstories of personal experiences thattouched on the first Star Wars film andthe TV series Paper Chase.

His was joined for the forum byJames Gibson, director of the LawSchool’s Intellectual Property Institute.Their presentation, which was titled “TheProperty Behind the Picture,” was spon-sored by the institute and the StudentIntellectual Property Law Association.

“You never know where an idea willcome from,” said Sontag. Securing theintellectual property rights to an ideathese days “can be an expensive obstacleto creativity,” he said. “But the last thingyou want is to end up in court.”

The IP forum and a discussion aboutchildren, media and the First Amendmentconcluded the first Academic Festival.With its success, the Law School is alreadyplanning its next festival for the 2006-07academic year.

• • •

Doctors, lawyers findcommon groundMore than 30 lawyers-to-be and doc-tors—whose professions often interactlike dogs and cats—met at the LawSchool this year for an unusual opportu-nity to learn from and about one another.

Under the direction of Sean Byrne, ’93and L’97, who is a certified emergencymedical technician (EMT), the doctorsand law students discussed

‘Download’ survey raises ethical concerns

More than 75 percent of 18- to 24-year-old students recognize that freedownloading of music from onlinesources is illegal, and 60 percent see itas unethical.

But more than a third of them ille-gally download music, according to arecent national survey by the LawSchool’s Intellectual PropertyInstitute. Thirty-nine percent say theypay for downloads, while 40 percentsay they do not obtain music online.

The national telephone surveyrevealed that more than one in threeof those students who engage in ille-gal file sharing think it is wrong, butthey do so anyway to save money.

“What we’re seeing here is anawareness of the legal and ethicalimplications of illegal downloading,which may result from the increasedincidence of subpoenas, prosecutionsand disciplinary actions in recentyears,” said James Gibson, director ofthe institute. “Despite that aware-ness, many college students are con-tinuing to engage in behavior thatthey themselves acknowledge aswrong.”

The survey was widely reported bynational media. It showed that collegecampuses are the most popular sitesfor illegal downloads, followed by students’ homes.

NATIONAL SURVEY

Mattox debatefocuses on religious freedom

The Seventh Annual Mattox Debatepitted two members of the VirginiaGeneral Assembly in a debate over acontroversial amendment proposedfor the state’s Constitution.

Charles W. Carrico Sr. and John S.Edwards spoke before a packed MootCourtroom on an amendment to theVirginia Statute for Religious Freedomthat would allow public displays ofreligion and school prayer.

During the 2005 legislative ses-sion, Carrico, a Republican fromGrayson County, proposed the amend-ment that would grant people theright to pray in public schools whileretaining the ban on organized prayer.

Although the bill “doesn’t allowthe Commonwealth to establish reli-gion,” Carrico said, “it’s necessary toremove the fear of being taken tocourt” that might confront a studentwho wants to pray or otherwiseacknowledge religious beliefs and her-itage in public.

Edwards, a Democrat fromRoanoke, argued there was no needto amend a provision, “which hashardly changed in more than 200years.” He responded to Carrico, stat-ing the notion that prayer in school isbanned is a myth.

The event is named for Conrad B.Mattox, Jr., R’49 and L’51. This year’sdebate was co-sponsored by A MorePerfect Union, and the Council forAmerica’s First Freedom.

DEBATE

FOR THE RECORD

��Sir David Williams

(From left) Jeffrey T. Frederick, Donelson R. Forsyth and Paula L. Hannaford-Agor discuss the jury system during Academic Festival 2006.

John S. Edwards (left) and Charles W. Carrico Sr.

8 RICHMOND LAW

FOR THE RECORD

Dean Rodney A. Smolla, who repre-sented the lawyers in their appeal, toldthe court that the case involved substan-tial free-speech issues. He questionedwhether concerns over the “dignity of theprofession” trumped the FirstAmendment right to free speech.

The case received considerable pub-licity, including a column by James J.Kilpatrick, who concluded, “If I want tosue my doctor for a botched operation,give me a pit bull lawyer every time.”

The Thomas Jefferson Center for theProtection of Free Expression awardedthe Florida court a “Jefferson Muzzle.” Themuzzles are presented annually for whatthe center deems egregious offensesagainst the First Amendment.

Belcher, Dean Smollanamed law fellows

Dennis I. Belcher, L’76, andDean Rodney A. Smolla,have been named fellows ofthe Virginia LawFoundation.

The honor is limited to 1percent of active and associ-ate members of the VirginiaState Bar who reside in theCommonwealth. Fellowsmust uphold the higheststandards of the legal pro-fession, be outstanding in

the community and distinguished in thepractice of law.

A partner with the firm McGuire-Woods in Richmond, Belcher concen-trates on estate taxation, trust adminis-tration, and private wealth services.

Smolla was selected for his outstand-ing contributions to both the professionand the Richmond legal community.

The Virginia Law Foundation sup-ports pro-bono programs, improvementof the administration of justice, publiceducation about the law, continuing legaleducation and public service internshipsfor Virginia law students.

controversial issues such as tort reform,medical malpractice, patient safety, andrisk management in the course titledMedical Malpractice Law and Litigation.

“It’s been a great success,” says Byrne,whose firm Hancock, Daniel, Johnson &Nagle, specializes in legal issues relatedto health care. So much so that TheDoctors Company, the leading physician-owned malpractice insurance carrier inthe nation, offers a 5 percent discount oninsurance coverage to doctors who com-plete the course successfully.

The course grew from an idea byPorcher L. Taylor III, an associate professorin the School of Continuing Studies. WithByrne, an adjunct professor at the LawSchool, Taylor expanded the idea toinclude law students and health care pro-fessionals, including doctors.

“The idea was that immersing doc-tors and law students in the same aca-demically rigorous learninglaboratory might contributeto building a bridgebetween them over con-tentious issues arising frommalpractice claims,” Taylorsays. “We need to find waysto resolve this conflict, and we hope the class will contribute to that goal.”

The program is so unusu-al that it has drawn attentionfrom other law schools aswell as national media, including theonline edition of The New York Times.

‘Pit bull’ lawyers losecase, win awardThe U.S. Supreme Court rejected anappeal in March by two personal injurylawyers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., whohad advertised their services by using apit bull dog wearing a spiked collar.

Last year, the Florida Supreme Courtruled the ads “demean all lawyers” andharm the profession and the system of justice.

Law studentscompete in Vienna

Students from the Law School were inVienna this April for the Willem C. VisInternational Commercial ArbitrationMoot Court Competition, which isdesigned to foster the study of inter-national commercial law and to trainprospective lawyers in methods ofalternative dispute resolution.

Teams of law students represent-ing 158 institutions in 50 countriescompeted. This was the first timeRichmond students joined the competition held in Austria.

Third-year students NaomiAndrews and Kendra Horger, and sec-ond-year students Mike Clements andZev Antell, prepared briefs for thecompetition. Rob Hawkins of Hunton& Williams, and Jill Williamson ofAlston Bird were coaches.

Andrews and Horger, with coachHawkins, represented the Law Schoolduring the oral advocacy phase inVienna.

Opening ceremonies took place atthe Wiener Konzerhaus, whereapproximately 1,000 law students andhundreds of coaches and judges (prac-ticing lawyers, arbitrators, and lawprofessors) gathered from throughoutthe world.

Over the next four days, teamswere paired at random for fourrounds of oral arguments before panels of three arbitrators.

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Kendra Horger (left) and Naomi Andrews.

Dennis I. Belcher

Summer 2006 9

Left to right: Henry L. Chambers Jr.,

Joel B. Eisen, James Gibsonand Mary L. Heen.

Azizah al-Hibri published “DivineJustice and the Human Order: AnIslamic Perspective” in HumanityBefore God: Contemporary Faces ofJewish, Christian, and IslamicEthics, William Schweiker, MichaelJohnson and Kevin Jung, eds.(Fortress Press 2006).

Hamilton Bryson has publishedVirginia Civil Procedure 4th Edition.

Henry L. Chambers Jr. moderated apanel on Reauthorization of theVoting Rights Act of 1965 at theAssociation of American LawSchools meeting in Washington,D.C. He also presented a paper,“Dred Scott: Tiered Citizenship andTiered Personhood,” to a confer-ence on the Dred Scott case andits effects at the University ofTexas Law School in Austin. He islecturing this summer on consti-tutional law: “We the People: TheCitizen and the Constitution” inSan Diego.

Timothy L. Coggins, associate deanfor library and information services,published “Legal, Faculty and OtherInternet Sites for Attorneys andOthers” in Richmond Journal of Lawand Technology, the Law School’sonline law journal (http://law.

richmond.edu/jolt/links.asp).Coggins also presented “EffectiveAdvocacy: Tips, Techniques andExamples” at the All-California Joint Institute, sponsored by chapters of the AmericanAssociation of Law Libraries, in March in Sacramento, Calif.

Joel B. Eisen co-authored the sec-ond edition of Energy, Economicsand the Environment, a leadingenergy law course book for lawand business schools. The 2006edition is updated to focus onrecent developments, and inte-grates economic and environmen-tal issues with energy resourceissues. Eisen also published“Rapanos, Carabell and theIsolated Man” in the University ofRichmond Law Review’s Allen ChairEdition on The State of theChesapeake Bay in the Twenty-FirstCentury. Eisen calls upon theSupreme Court to reject proposalsin two cases involving the CleanWater Act to construe the statutemore narrowly.

James Gibson, director of theIntellectual Property Institute, pub-lished “Once and Future Copyright,”in the 2006 edition of West’sIntellectual Property Law Review, an

annual anthology of the best IPwriting of the year. He served as apanelist at Georgetown Law Centerfor a discussion of intellectual prop-erty protection for sports statistics.Gibson has been widely quoted onissues related to intellectual prop-erty in publications including theBoston Globe and The Chronicle ofHigher Education.

Ann C. Hodges participated inMarch in a teleconference for theVirginia Breast Cancer Foundationon “Employment Issues After aBreast Cancer Diagnosis” withCraig Curwood, L’99. In May, shespoke on labor law to a class spon-sored by the Richmond CentralLabor Council and the United Wayof Greater Richmond andPetersburg. She joined theCommunity Tax Project’s nonprofitadvisory panel and the advisoryboard for the Virginia Cancer PlanAction Coalition. Her article“Bargaining for Privacy in theUnionized Workplace” was pub-lished in the International Journalof Comparative Labour Law andIndustrial Relations, (Issue 2, 2006).

Mary L. Heen is General Counsel of the American Association ofUniversity Professors for a two-

Faculty achievements, publications and appearances

FACULTY BRIEFS


FACULTY BRIEFS FACULTY BRIEFS

year term that began in June. Shewill continue her duties at the LawSchool while overseeing legalwork for AAUP. Heen recently completed a term on AAUP’sCommittee on Academic Freedomand Tenure. With Robert C. Post ofYale she prepared a statement on“Academic Freedom and OutsideSpeakers,” which appeared in theMarch-April issue of Acaceme.

Corinna Lain presented “FurmanFundamentals” at the Richmondand Wake Forest University lawschools.

Excerpts from Emmy Reeves’ arti-cle “Cool Data on a Hot Issue:Empirical Evidence That a LawSchool Bar Support ProgramEnhances Bar Performance,” wasreprinted in The Bar Examiner (vol.75, No. 1, February 2006). The arti-cle, written with Linda Jellum, waspublished originally in the NevadaLaw Journal. Reeves presented thearticle with Jellum, by teleconfer-ence, to faculty of the CharlestonLaw School in March.

Shari Motro’s article “The IRS’sShotgun Marriage” was publishedon the op-ed page of The New YorkTimes on April 14, 2006.

A. Benjamin Spencer published“Jurisdiction and the Internet:Returning to Traditional Principlesto Analyze Network-MediatedContacts,” in the University of

Illinois Law Review (February2006), and “Jurisdiction toAdjudicate: A Revised Analysis,” invol. 73, University of Chicago LawReview (May 2006).

Rodney A. Smolla presented“United States Supreme CourtUpdate” in May to the jointFederal-State Judicial Conference inCharleston, W.Va. He spoke on“Sources of Constitutional Powerand Separation of Powers” beforethe Virginia General Assembly’sState Bar Law School for LegislatorsProgram in Richmond, April 18. Hedelivered a speech “John Marshalland the Judicial Review” at theValentine Museum in Richmond onMarch 31, under a Hampton CitySchools Teaching American HistoryGrant. Smolla moderated programsduring the Law School’s springAcademic Festival, including“Newsroom Confidential: TheDebate Over Protecting Journalistsand Their Sources,” and “Invasionsof Our Freedoms: Where Are WeHeaded with Privacy Rights?” Hewas keynote speaker at TroutmanSanders’ pro bono awards lunch-eon in Richmond March 20, speak-ing on “Pro Bono Service and CivicEngagement.” Smolla discussed“Congress and the Judiciary:Continuing the Dialogue,” as panelmoderator at the American BarAssociation meeting in Chicago,Feb. 11, 2006. Among his publica-tions are book chapters:“Defending the First: Commentary

on First Amendment Issues andCases,” in Anatomy of an OralArgument, Joseph Russomanno,editor (Lawrence Erlbaum 2005); “AYear at the Supreme Court,” CrossBurning: Virginia v. Black, NealDevins and Davison M. Douglas,editors (Duke University Press). Andarticles including: “The BestDefense: Prosecutors Are fromNeptune, Defense Attorneys Arefrom Pluto,” Slate magazine, Nov. 2,2005.

Carl W. Tobias published articleson Fourth Circuit publication prac-tices in the Washington and LeeLaw Review and on Congress inJudicature. He co-authored a bookreview with Margaret Sanner onwomen in the legal profession inthe Cornell Journal of Law andPublic Policy. He also publishedarticles on federal judicial selec-tion in the National Law Journal,Jurist, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Roanoke Times.Tobias wrote on executive powerin the Providence Journal and ondetainees in the Baltimore Sun andthe Los Angeles Daily Journal. Hepublished an article on the NinthCircuit in the Washington Times,on the Vioxx litigation in NationalLaw Journal and Jurist, and on theBlackBerry litigation in theNational Law Journal, San DiegoUnion-Tribune, Providence Journaland Jurist. Tobias’ letters to theeditor were published in The NewYork Times, Los Angeles Times,

Philadelphia Inquirer, and TheWashington Post. He was widelyquoted during the debates overjudicial selection, Supreme Courtnominees, and the Vioxx,BlackBerry and Dover litigation,appearing on BBC, “Talk of theNation,” National Public Radio,Bloomberg Radio, “Marketplace,”Voice of America, NBC Radio, andCBS Radio. Tobias has been quotedin print media, including: theInternational Herald Tribune, TheWashington Post, Los AngelesTimes, Christian Science Monitor,Detroit News, Toronto Globe &Mail, Philadelphia Inquirer, SaltLake City Tribune, Boston Globe,Miami Herald, Legal Times,National Law Journal, LawyersWeekly USA, Bergen County (N.J.)Record, Indianapolis Star, BuffaloDaily News, Houston Chronicle,Newsday, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Forbes, Financial Times,N.Y. Daily News, San FranciscoChronicle, Hartford Courant,Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, andBaltimore Sun, and the AssociatedPress, Scripps-Howard, Knight-Ridder and other services.

AwardsProfessor Ann C. Hodges andAssociate Dean Kristine M.Henderson were named winners ofthe Willie L. Moore Award, which ispresented annually by the BlackLaw Students Association. Theaward acknowledges the recipients’support for the association and

their commitment to social justice.A graduate of Yale University LawSchool, Moore joined the LawSchool faculty in 1990. He wasdirector of the Youth AdvocacyClinic at the Law School, where hewas a highly regarded teacher andmentor, and advocate for childrenand young people. Upon his deathin 1992, the association created thisaward in his honor.

New facultyChristopher A. Cotropia will jointhe faculty this fall as an associateprofessor. He comes to Richmondfrom Tulane University School ofLaw. Cotropia received his B.S. withhonors in computer engineeringand electrical engineering fromNorthwestern University, and hisJ.D. with honors from theUniversity of Texas School of Law,where he served as articles editorof the Texas Intellectual PropertyLaw Journal. After graduating fromlaw school, he clerked for theHonorable Alvin A. Schall, U.S.Court of Appeals for the FederalCircuit. Cotropia was an associatewith Fish & Richardson specializingin intellectual property litigation.His research and teaching interestsfocus on intellectual property, pri-marily patent law.

Kristen R. Jakobsen Osenga joinsthe faculty as assistant professor.She comes from Chicago-KentCollege of Law where she was avisiting assistant professor special-

izing in patent law. Osengareceived her B.S.E. in biomedicalengineering from the University ofIowa, a master’s in electrical engi-neering from Southern IllinoisUniversity, and her J.D. magna cumlaude from the University ofIllinois College of Law, where sheserved as notes editor of theJournal of Law, Technology & Policy.Following law school, Osengajoined Finnegan, Henderson,Farabow, Garrett & Dunner inWashington, D.C., concentrating onpatent law. She clerked for theHonorable Richard Linn, UnitedStates Court of Appeals for theFederal Circuit. Osenga will teachin the area of intellectual propertywith a focus on patent law.

Noah M. Sachs joins the faculty asassistant professor of law. He hasbeen Climenko Fellow and lecturerat Harvard Law School, specializingin environmental law. Sachsreceived his B.A., magna cum laudeand Phi Beta Kappa from BrownUniversity, a master’s in publicaffairs from Princeton University’sWoodrow Wilson School of Publicand International Affairs, and hisJ.D. with distinction from StanfordLaw School where he was articleseditor of the StanfordEnvironmental Law Journal. Hewas with the firm Carter, Ledyard& Milburn in New York City, andwith Foley Hoag in Boston. He willteach environmental law.

Left to right: Corinna Lain, Shari Motro,

Rodney A. Smolla and Carl W. Tobias.

Left to right: Ann C. Hodges, Kristine M.Henderson, Christopher A.Cotropia, Kristen R.Jakobsen Osenga and Noah M. Sachs.


Seeking post-conviction justiceBy Mary Kelly Tate

rison inmates are the definition of the pariah.They are often despised, forgotten and ignored.Eliciting concern for a person tried and con-

victed of a violent crime is not easy in a world with sickchildren to heal, borders to protect, markets to win andelection seats to occupy.

“They all claim to be innocent,” people say, andsome of them are, which tells us that not all is well inthe way we administer justice.

In the fall of 2004, I attended an event at the LawSchool in which Peter Neufeld from the InnocenceProject at Cardozo University, and Marvin Anderson, aVirginian who had been exonerated after serving timein prison, spoke to a full house. The evening provideda thoughtful foray into a tough topic.

At the conclusion, something unexpected hap-pened. Rodney A. Smolla, dean of the Law School,stood and eloquently addressed the social importanceof this work and shared his wish that one day the LawSchool would be doing its own work on behalf ofwrongly convicted inmates.

I have attended many academic events in my life,but I had never heard the leader of such an institutionshare a goal in quite that way. He seemed steadfast andliteral. I had not heard or met Smolla before, but I wasmightily impressed and very hopeful. The next day Icalled and asked for a meeting.

When we met, I told the dean of my long interestin post-conviction work. It started at the University ofVirginia Law School and continued as I clerked forJudge Robert R. Merhige Jr., where I found myselfdrawn to habeas cases. My interest strengthened withmy appointment to a federal death penalty case, andeventually to my work with the Richmond PublicDefender’s Office. I told Dean Smolla I wanted to vol-unteer my time to help build an innocence program atthe Law School.

He agreed, and the Law School and I began ourjourney toward this goal. For a little over a year now, Ihave linked arms with students, faculty, lawyers, admin-istrators and scientists to create just such a program,now called the Institute for Actual Innocence, IAI.

The IAI is an academic program with clinical andclassroom components. Its mission is to identify, inves-tigate and ultimately litigate cases of wrongful convic-tion in Virginia. The cases may or may not involve bio-logical evidence. Only inmates with serious felony con-victions and considerable time remaining on their sen-tences, or those facing a death sentence will qualify.

The IAI is served by a 16-member, multidisciplinaryboard of advisors, and Dr. Walter Nance, a science advi-sor from the VCU/MCV Human Genetics Department.The program will involve a host of local attorneys, someof whom have joined the board and others who have con-veyed their interest in assisting in other ways.

Our students’ first contact with the program isthrough a seminar in Causes of Wrongful Convictionstaught each fall. This course is an introduction into thesystemic, structural problems that compromise crimi-nal trial outcomes. This course will ground the studentsintellectually for the work that will follow in the springsemester. That work includes field-based reinvestiga-tion and review of cases. The students perform “legalautopsies” on each case taken for formal investigation.

The students will be closely supervised and willbenefit from total immersion in the trial, appellate andhabeas records of criminal cases.

The IAI is designed to carefully vet incomingrequests for assistance from inmates in Virginia. TheIAI uses a 22-page questionnaire for its initial review,the first step in a six-phase case-review process. Thereview becomes more thorough with each level. Afterthe review, a few cases will be selected. The IAI retainstotal discretion in this process.

PRighting

Wrongs


Our resources—mostly law students—will beguided carefully. Once a case has been fully investigatedand deemed to have highly credible and persuasive evi-dence of factual error, the students will present theirfindings to experienced local attorneys for oversight andanalysis. The IAI will then seek co-counsel to pursue lit-igation under Virginia’s writs of actual innocence—statutes promulgated, in theory, to soften the post-con-viction landscape in Virginia. The writs are procedural-ly onerous, so relief is not easily won. Petitions forclemency may also be sought in appropriate cases.

In addition to the concrete and practical learningopportunities available in the program, the IAI willallow students to imagine and define the role of the cit-izen/lawyer. Their work will be a catalyst for self-dis-covery as the students see how lawyers might engagesociety. They will work together to help people at thevery margins of society, and they will see the challengesand burdens that prosecutors and law enforcement offi-cials struggle with every day.

The IAI is an independent program connectedsolely to the Law School, but it informally joins anational community of 40 or so programs doing simi-lar work. The most famous are the Innocence Project at

Cardozo University and the program thatbegan at Northwestern’s School of Journalism.

Earl Washington Jr.’s case is probably thebest known case of wrongful conviction inVirginia. Its tortured history is a glimpse intothe legal, political and social realities that makeremediation of such injustices so painfully andtragically complicated.

Washington, a poor and uneducatedAfrican-American, was a young man in 1984living in Culpeper, Va. With an IQ around 69,he was prototypically susceptible to the titanicharms that can arise from deeply flawed crimi-nal investigations and the legal proceedingsthat follow.

The Innocence Project and a New Yorklaw firm handled Washington’s post-convictionlitigation.

While in custody on an unrelated charge,Washington confessed to the rape and murder of ayoung mother from the area. Four additional confessionswere also part of Washington’s encounter with lawenforcement. Most of those confessions were quicklydiscarded, but the real treasure for law enforcement wasthe admission that seemingly solved the case of the hor-rible rape and murder.

Though it was sullied by numerous inconsisten-cies, the confession became the lynchpin of the com-monwealth’s case against Washington.

Without the benefit of an experienced capital trialattorney to attack biological evidence that failed to linkhim to the crime, and to address competency issues,introduce laboratory reports and expert testimony onimportant non-biological physical evidence, and topresent a strong mitigation case at the sentencingphase, Washington’s conviction and sentence were nothard to foresee.

Post-conviction proceedings also were detrimentalto Washington’s case.

Despite obtaining biological testing that excludedhim as the source of the seminal fluid at the scene ofthe crime, Washington was time-barred by Virginia’s“21-day rule.” This rule barred Washington from intro-ducing any new evidence 21 days after trial.

The only route left would be through the gover-nor’s office. In 1994, after reviewing the case, then-Gov.L. Douglas Wilder commuted Washington’s sentence tolife in prison, saving Washington from execution.

Six years later, the lawyers for Washington con-vinced Gov. James Gilmore, who succeeded Wilder, toorder more scientific testing. The results of the teststhat followed led to an absolute pardon from the gov-ernor on the capital murder charge.

Washington remained in prison on several unrelatedcharges. Finally, the Department of Corrections releasedWashington on parole, concluding that he should havebeen eligible for parole on these lesser charges 10 yearsearlier. He had spent close to 20 years in prison.

With the advent of DNA technology, and in lightof prominent cases like Washington’s, society is slowlybeginning the hard work of openly grappling withunassailable evidence that innocent people are, fromtime to time, found guilty of crimes with very seriouspenalties, including the ultimate penalty of death.

In a 15-year period from 1989–2003, a Universityof Michigan Law School professor identified 340 casesnationwide where prisoners were eventually exonerat-ed. Some 144 of these resulted from biological evi-dence. In Virginia alone between 1982–1990, at least11 cases of wrongful conviction have been unearthed.

Vigorous debate surrounds what constitutes a trueexoneration. Each side has different definitions and thusdifferent numbers. Joshua Marquis, a prosecutor andwell-known skeptic of the attention being paid towrongful convictions, wrote an article decrying a lack ofintellectual honesty in the death penalty debate. He said

these errors are “episodic, not epidemic.”The quest for mathematical certainty notwith-

standing, many questions arise from the fact that we doknow that wrongful convictions happen.

What is the appropriate societal response to thissobering reality? What is an acceptable level of error? Isthe death penalty compatible with risk of error? Andwho is responsible for faulty convictions—law enforce-ment, prosecutors, the courts, defense counsel or thepublic?

There is a temptation to view the pursuit of post-conviction exoneration as somehow the fashion of themoment, when, in fact, the problem resides at the heartof our criminal justice system’s credibility.

The causes of wrongful convictions are manifold.One of the most common problem is mistakes by eye-witnesses. This realization is not new. Edwin Borchard,a professor at Yale Law School, chronicled this legal real-ity in 1932 with his seminal book Convicting theInnocent. Borchard’s book is a needed reminder thatscholarly and legal concerns about wrongful convictionspredate DNA, CSI and Court TV.

Other causes include faulty interrogation proce-dures, poor quality indigent defense, a bias toward con-firmation in criminal investigations or “tunnel vision,”laboratory errors and skewed discovery practices.

Most prosecutors are committed, good-faith, publicservants who strive for the right outcome, but a numberof cases have been tied to prosecutorial misconduct.

Perhaps the most promising development in thearea of wrongful convictions is that institutions andpublic servants are starting to perceive the problem asone worthy of redress.

Former Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia ordered arandom audit of 31 DNA cases to test for accuracy.Two of those 31 were found to be in error, an error rateof 7 percent. These findings led Warner to order retest-ing of a broad range of cases.

Warner also showed leadership in the Roger KeithColeman case that for so long had been at the vortex ofthe anti-death penalty movement in the United Statesand around the world.

To the dismay of some death penalty foes, theDNA tests Warner ordered after Coleman’s executiondemonstrated that Coleman was not an innocent mansent to death. But the longstanding controversy sur-rounding the Coleman case reinforced the importanceof accuracy in criminal investigations and trials.

The Warner era showed that governors have a sub-stantive and symbolic role to play in strengthening the

government’s invest-ment in criminal trialaccuracy.

In a time of culturewars, the area of wrongful con-victions is hospitable to both the leftand the right. Conservatives and liber-als alike are deeply bothered by thespecter of an innocent person stripped oflife or liberty.

The IAI hopes to do the hard work with a spirit ofcivility to identify some of the errors that occur. Theseerrors not only are injustices to the lives of those false-ly convicted, but they also do grave injury to our insti-tutions and the social, political and democratic legiti-macy that depends on these institutions.

While facing the problem of wrongful convictions,we should remember America’s strength lies in its abil-ity to recognize and rectify injustices. Our finestmoments are when we have faith that we are strongenough to admit our mistakes. ■

Mary Kelly Tate is special assistant to thedean for pro bono services and director ofthe Institute for Actual Innocence at theLaw School. She earned her law degreefrom the University of Virginia in 1991.

RIGHTING WRONGS

“ … society is slowly beginning the hard work of openly grappling with unassailable

evidence that innocent people are, from time to time, found guilty of crimes

with very serious penalties, including the ultimate penalty of death.”

Earl Washington Jr. (above), wasfreed from death row after DNAtesting led to a pardon. He hadserved almost 20 years in prison.

Rich

mon

d Ti

mes

-Dis

patc

h


Family valuesOne professor’s pro bono workteaches lessons learned outsidethe classroomBy Rob Walker

n the winter of 2003, authorities in Hanover County, Va., converged on an isolated,ramshackle house in response to a call made from a nearby home. As sheriff ’s deputiesarrived, six children who lived there fled into the woods. They found another, a 2-year-old, inside.

Through a frigid night, authorities searched for the six children using thermal imag-ing equipment, helicopters with search beams, and rescue dogs. The next morning thechildren, cold and hungry, emerged from the woods on their own and were taken intoprotective custody.

The house was primitive, with no electricity, sewage, or running water. It was laterdemolished on orders from the county. The children never had been enrolled in school,never had immunizations, and seldom had left the property. They had lived lives almostentirely isolated from the outside world.

The father ultimately was charged with felony child neglect. The mother was “greenwarranted”—taken into protective custody for mental health evaluation. She had beentreated previously for psychological disorders.

A sheriff ’s deputy described the situation as “sad, really sad.” The story was big newsin Richmond, prompting an outpouring of public support for the family.

Corinna Lain, an associate professor at the Law School, recalls seeing the events onthe evening news. At the time, Lain had no idea she would be intimately involved in thecase, her first pro bono project.

Lain agreed to represent the father in a termination of parental rights action againsthim. “Termination of parental rights is essentially the death penalty as a parent,” Lainexplains. “The parent loses every legal connection to the child, including the right to visitthe child or even be informed as to how that child is doing.” It was a serious case.Whatever the outcome, she knew that a person in this man’s position needed help.

By the time the litigation was finished, Lain had invested more than 500 hours probono in the case. “You never know up front how involved a case will be,” Lain says, “andyou shouldn’t take something on unless you are willing to do the job right.”

I


In this instance, Lain knew early on that the casewould require a substantial investment. There wereseven children ages 2 to 17, and each had undergonemultiple evaluations to assess the effects of lifelong iso-lation. The mother and father both had mental healthissues. There were five other attorneys involved in thelitigation, almost all of whom were against her client.There was also the parallel criminal neglect case againstthe father, which had implications for the terminationproceeding. On top of all that, Lain came into the liti-gation late. The case had been proceeding for a yearwhen she entered the fray.

“I knew it would be an involved case,” Lain says.“But I also understood the need for my involvement.And once I learned more about the facts, I became evenmore convinced of that.”

Since he became dean of the Law School in 2003,

Rodney A. Smolla has promoted a “Pro Bono StrategicPlan” that “should reinvigorate [the school’s] institu-tional commitment to encouraging pro bono serviceactivity by students, faculty and administrators.”

Pro bono service, Smolla says, reflects a fundamen-tal value of the profession. It is an ethical duty of lawyers.It enriches one’s understanding of the legal system whilebenefiting society and the Law School. It should be rou-tine in every lawyer’s professional life, he says.

His own experience with pro bono cases has“helped me in my legal writing, in my teaching, andserved as a model for pro bono activity for students,”Smolla says.

Of Lain, Smolla says, “I was particularly proud ofher extraordinary pro bono efforts in the case. She waswilling to represent a client in difficult circumstancesagainst formidable odds, and she conducted herselfwith admirable professionalism and dedication, honor-ing the highest values of our profession.”

“My initial feeling was that this was a chance to give

back to the community,” Lain says, recalling her decisionto take on the case. “But to my surprise, the case hasturned out to be a gift to me. It has been remarkablyrewarding, enriching my understanding of the law andits processes, my community connections, my teaching,and my scholarship.”

Before joining the law faculty, Lain was a prosecu-tor in Henrico County, a subdivision of the greaterRichmond metropolitan area. There she specialized indomestic violence and child sexual assault and abusecases. “I had always hoped to go into law teaching,”Lain says, “but I wanted courtroom experience first.”

As a law student, Lain was most engaged in class-es that mixed theory and practice. “I wanted to emulatethat,” she says, “and prosecuting in Henrico was a stepin that direction. I wanted to be able to say, ‘This ishow it works,’ and then give my students an example

worth remembering.” Practical experience struck Lainas a useful pedagogical tool.

While with Henrico, Lain taught trial advocacy atthe Law School as an adjunct faculty member. She thenspent a year as a visiting professor while she made thetransition from practitioner to professor. Although shecould have taken a teaching position at another school,Lain accepted an offer to stay at Richmond. “I was elat-ed,” Lain recalls. “I recognized early on that this schoolis a very special place.”

Since 2001, Lain has taught evidence, criminalprocedure, civil procedure, children and the law, domes-tic violence, trial advocacy, and appellate advocacycourses. In each, she takes a practice-oriented approach.

Because of her background, Lain was a naturalchoice for the case, which came to the dean’s attentionthrough a distinguished alumnus. Still, she confides,the nature of the litigation was challenging.“Prosecuting and defending are vastly different worlds,and defending in a civil case, especially one this com-

plex and emotional, was even more different. I had tocatch up very quickly and there was much to be done,”Lain says.

In the litigation, Lain’s position was that the courtshould allow her client the opportunity for rehabilitation,which she argued he had not yet been given. “He had justbegun medication two weeks before trial, and had madesubstantial progress in individual therapy,” Lain says. Shewas shocked that no one had told her client to get coun-seling before she was involved in the case.

“My client took steps to get mental health help thefirst week of my representation,” Lain says, adding,“there was more work to do, but he was makingprogress, and I was proud of the effort.”

Lain admits that the situation had in fact beenneglectful, and explicitly conceded that point in the lit-igation. She explains, “This was not a case of malice,but of neglect. Everyone involved in the case, includingopposing counsel and the judge, recognized that thisfather deeply loved his children.”

Of her client, Lain says, “He had issues that pre-cluded him from reaching out for help on his own, andwas just doing the best he could to raise seven childrenunder extremely difficult circumstances.”

“It was not a good situation,” she explains, “but itdid not make sense to me to completely sever the tiesbetween the father and his biological children, especial-ly where the only personal bonds the children had werewith their parents and each other.”

Lain understood the decision to remove the chil-dren from the home, but explains that terminatingparental rights is an entirely different question. “We’renot talking about where the kids are going to live; we’retalking about whether this man will ever have a chanceof them living with him in the future. Will he evenhave a right to see them again?” she asks.

Despite Lain’s efforts, the father lost his parentalrights, and was sent to prison for five years—a sentencefive times the high end of the guidelines for thecharges. Lain did not represent the father on the crim-inal charges, but had prosecuted enough neglect casesto be surprised by the result.

“That’s quite a statement in a case that was morepathetic than anything, especially where the parent didnot intentionally hurt the children and they were phys-ically unharmed,” she says.

Lain says the only thing positive about the outcomeof the case is that the children were all placed togetherwith what appears to be an ideal foster care family.

“Given the situation, it was very important that

these children were placed together,” she says, adding“the fact that they were with a loving, Christian familywas important to my client as well.”

Although she was disappointed at the outcome,Lain describes her experiences as deeply enriching. “Iwas surprised by how many different course areas thelitigation touched,” she says. “I even encountered anexample of hearsay within hearsay within hearsay. Ourlaw books don’t even teach that.”

For Lain’s research assistants, the learning experi-ence was equally enriching. Irene Wilkins, L’05, whorecently followed Lain’s footsteps to the HenricoCounty Commonwealth’s Attorneys office, workedwith Lain on the case while she was student.

“Being in court and watching [Lain] interact withthe family and witnesses convinced me I wanted to dotrial work,” Wilkins says. “It was one of the most valu-able experiences I had in law school.”

“I’m fortunate to be at a place where pro bonowork is valued and encouraged,” Lain says. “The com-munity needs us, and I believe we need it too. Foreveryone involved—the lawyer, the client, and thecommunity—pro bono work is a win-win situation.”

Lain says the experience highlighted the impor-tance of legal advocacy. “In termination cases, where thestakes are high, the law is complex, and the clients areoften marginalized members of society, a committedlawyer is a necessity,” she says. “We owe more to under-privileged members of society than we are giving.”

For Lain, pro bono work turned out to be aninvestment as much as it was a gift to the community.

“The lawyers I met were wonderful, the litigationwas challenging and worthy, and the benefit to myteaching and scholarship is palpable,” she says. “Thestory itself is rich with legal, social and ethical issues.The more unpopular the client, the greater the need.” ■

Rob Walker is the editor of Richmond Law.

FAMILY VALUES

A “no trespassing” signon the front gate, phoneline box, firewood pile,picnic table, and well(previous page) are reminders that a familyonce lived on the property.

The pro bono case hasallowed Lain to bringexamples from real-lifeinto the classroom.

20 RICHMOND LAW Summer 2006 21

recent posts on bankruptcy matters. It describesSpencer as “a rising star” behind “two terrific blogs.”

Although many blogs welcome readers’ com-ments, Spencer’s do not inspire online dialogue.

“That’s because I’m just reporting on cases anddecisions without making comments or editorializing,”says the author, who says his Split Circuits blog attractsroughly 650 unique visits each day. Most likely,Spencer believes, his readers are law school faculty anda few practitioners—not to mention at least one gov-ernment lawyer who used it to help Senator DeWinemake a political point.

Spencer recognizes that the practice of maintain-ing blogs doesn’t carry the same cachet as publishingarticles, which is why he reserves commentary andanalysis for that more traditional medium. Many otherlegal eagles, however, do not hesitate to express theiropinions online. A Google search for “blog” turns upmore than 1.2 billion entries. According to a survey byblogads.com in 2004, lawyers and judges rank fourthamong groups who read and post to blogs.

Bloggers in the World of PracticeWade T. Anderson is a lawyer who finds time every dayto spend in the “blogosphere.” A 2002 graduate of theLaw School and an associate in the firm Frith Anderson& Peake PC in Roanoke, Va., Anderson says he monitors35 blogs daily for news as well as political, financial, andlegal information. For convenience, he uses a news aggre-gator—software that retrieves syndicated Web content—to organize and display updates to his favorite sites.

“It’s a great way to keep in touch with the legalworld,” says Anderson, who enjoys the SouthwestVirginia Law Blog (www.swvalaw.blogspot.com), as wellas several nationally recognized blogs, including onewith the titilating title Underneath Their Robes(www.underneaththeirrobes.blogs.com. Please see side-bar for more blogs.)

“Some of the blogs I read are practical, some arecerebral, and others are just plain entertaining,”Anderson says.

He believes that technology-oriented lawyers maybe more likely to read, create, and maintain blogs thanthose who are less comfortable with computers andtheir adjuncts. He acknowledges that he did his fairshare of Web surfing on his laptop while listening tolectures as a law student. As a practitioner, he remainsinterested in all things technical.

“Blogs are a way for us to express our creativity,”says Anderson, who reviews local restaurants on his

own blog, www.biglickreviews.com. “That’s what’s sogreat about them—anyone can create a blog.”

Blogging in the ClassroomRichmond law professor James Gibson, an intellectualproperty and computer law expert who directs the LawSchool’s Intellectual Property Institute (IPI), believesthat, despite differing levels of quality, law-related blogsare valuable educational tools.

“It’s true that you get what you pay for,” he says,“but there’s always something to learn from blogs. Afterall, aspiring filmmakers can always learn something,even from bad films.”

For the last six months or so, Gibson’s studentshave been posting news stories on intellectual propertyissues to the Richmond IPI Blog (http://ipinstitute.blogspot.com), which Gibson created. Recent studentposts discuss Britney Spears’ claim that a Korean popsinger stole one of her hit songs, as well as a move byhigh-end fashion designers to copyright their creationsin an effort to prevent discount retailers from sellingcheap copies.

“This activity opens up the world of legal mysteryto our students and provides content that is accessibleto anyone, even those who know very little about intel-lectual property,” Gibson says.

Professor A. BenjaminSpencer’s blog “SplitCircuits” began as a wayto keep civil procedureprofessors up-to-date intheir field.

t was a memorable moment for anyone connected to the Law School. DuringJanuary’s U.S. Senate hearings to confirm Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as an associ-ate justice of the United States Supreme Court, one questioner dropped an

intriguing local reference. Discussing what he described as “the incredible shrinking Supreme Court,”

Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine noted that the court decides only 75 cases each term,down from almost 400 in 1976. “And one result of the court deciding fewer andfewer cases is that more and more circuit splits are left unresolved,” he said. “As weall know, a circuit split occurs [when] two or more federal courts of appeal disagreeon [an] issue of federal law.”

These circuit splits, which can be frustrating to trial judges and lawyers, havebecome so pervasive, the senator noted, that there is a Web site—a blog—devotedto identifying, tracking and discussing them. It is “written by a law professor at theUniversity of Richmond,” DeWine said. “Hardly a week passes when at least one[split] does not emerge.”

For those who may wonder what the senator was talking about, welcome to theworld of the blog. Blog, short for weblog, is an online journal or newsletter that isupdated frequently for public consumption. The Web site DeWine was referring tois called Split Circuits (http://splitcircuits.blogspot.com), and the professor is A.Benjamin Spencer.

An expert in civil procedure, Spencer created Split Circuits and the Federal CivilPractice Bulletin (http://federalcivilpracticebulletin.blogspot.com), last fall.

“I saw a need for resources that could help keep civil procedure professors up-to-date in their field,” he says. “I’ve long received daily updates from Westlaw andother sources on court decisions, and I decided to make this information availableimmediately to my colleagues through blogs.”

As blogs go, Spencer’s are straightforward. He created them using a free host-ing service. Every day he reviews the news and updates he has received and selectsone item to post to each blog. He then discusses his choices with his studentresearch assistant, who posts them on the blogs. “My part of the process probablytakes about five minutes,” Spencer says.

For his work, Spencer recently received notice on another blog for lawyers,http//www.bankruptcylitigationblog.com/, which referred readers to the professor’s

Law-related blogs create ‘a new public forum’By Cathy L. Eberly

I

22 RICHMOND LAW

While in his third year at the Law School,Brandon Rash, L’06, who is also trained as an electricalengineer, launched his own blog to post news related tolaw and technology. Combining abbreviations thatrefer to his academic degrees, he called it The EEJDBlog (http://eejd.blogspot.com). He kept it runninguntil the workload grew too great for him to continue.

“When I started finding law-related blogs, Inoticed there were many general ones, but none relat-ed to my interests,” says Rash, who is a first-year asso-ciate at Hunton & Williams in Richmond. “Creating ablog was a great way for me to learn legal issues beyondwhat I was reading about in my textbooks.”

According to Spencer, students not only learnfrom posting to blogs, they also benefit from readingthem. “I’ve had students tell me that reading SplitCircuits has given them ideas for papers they’ve beenassigned to write,” he says.

Some students see additional benefits from blog-ging. Third-year Law School student Josh Bradybelieves that the up-to-the-minute information onintellectual property cases he developed while postingto the Richmond IPI Blog helped him stand out in asea of candidates while he was seeking a position as apatent attorney.

“I always tried to find a way to work what I knowabout current cases into the conversation during inter-

views,” he says. “Once I learned through a Googlesearch that one of my interviewers had worked on aparticular case, and I was able to discuss that” duringthe interview. “Occasionally I was more up-to-date onan issue than the practicing lawyers.”

Rules of the RoadThe Law School’s Gibson believes that blogging isexceptional when compared to other communicationpractices. “It’s very community-oriented and interac-tive,” he says. “It’s like standing in the public squareand speaking your mind. You can have a discussion ona topic of interest with people from all over the world.”

While acknowledging its freewheeling nature,Gibson says that blogging is subject to informal regula-tion by its practitioners. One of the attractions of blogsis the ease with which bloggers can move among sitesto check information. Most blog authors include mate-rial from other blogs in their posts. In addition to cred-iting the source, they also include a link to the site fromwhich they borrowed the information.

“If they don’t do this, it’s technically copyrightinfringement, but the real threat to bloggers is disap-proval from within the community,” Gibson says. “Inthis world, Internet credibility, called ‘net cred,’ is veryimportant. Bloggers who don’t play by the rules willsoon be ostracized.”

Despite pressure to maintain credibility and topost interesting material regularly so readers stayengaged in this sea of information, millions of bloggersbelieve the future of this new technology is bright.

Gibson predicts that, as blogging tools evolve, theywill begin to feature voice and video capabilities. In themeantime, many lawyers view blogging as an effectiveand inexpensive way to express themselves before alarge number of people.

As Brandon Rash notes, “It’s a new revolution thatcan help anyone become a publisher.” ■

Cathy L. Eberly is a freelance writer based in Keswick, Va.

BLOGS

>> Ernie the Attorneyhttp://www.ernietheattorney.net

“Searching for truth & justice (in an unjust

world).”

Ernest Svenson, who describes himself as

“a lawyer who likes change,” a musician,

photographer, and family man, writes

from New Orleans.

>> How Appealinghttp://www.legalaffairs.org/howappealing

“The Web’s first blog devoted to appellate

litigation.”

Howard J. Bashman, a nationally known

appellate lawyer from Willow Grove, Pa.,

posts news and analysis about appellate

litigation.

>> SCOTUSbloghttp://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/

News and commentary on the U.S. Supreme

Court.

Goldstein & Howe PC, “the nation’s only

Supreme Court litigation boutique,”

produces this blog with contributions

from unusual sources.

>> Volokh Conspiracyhttp://volokh.com/#contact

“The finest in-depth view of legal issues on

the Internet.”

Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor, and

others, discuss everything from atheism

to academic freedom to censorship of

the cartoon “South Park.”

Best of the blogsThe American Bar Association says lawyers rate these among their favorite law-related blogs

ou name it, Bill Wood, L’66, has probably seen itduring his law career. Over time, a plethora of illtempers and hostile attitudes coupled with the

uncertainty factor in litigation have led the Universityof Richmond School of Law alumnus to become “evan-gelistic about mediation.”

“There’s the lottery affect about going to court,”he explains. “No matter how much you prepare andfeel you are ready, you never know what the judge andjury will do. That’s the beauty of mediation. The par-ties control their own destiny. That’s why I got into it.”

Wood is one of seven graduates of the Law Schoolwho have joined The McCammon Group, aRichmond-based firm that specializes in mediationalong with a variety of other dispute resolution services.John McCammon formed the group in 1995 after retir-ing from Wright, Robinson, McCammon, Osthimerand Tatum, a law practice he founded after leavingMcGuire, Woods & Battle (now McGuireWoods).

McCammon, who has served as an adjunct facultymember at the Law School, has drawn on experts withconnections to the Law School since the beginning, andhe is pleased with their dedication and hard work.

“They are a powerful group, very effective,”McCammon says. “Richmond has a great heritage. Itslaw school alumni are great practitioners at the bar, andthe people who have joined this group are terrificallypopular and highly skilled.”

McCammon, who has an undergraduate degree inpsychology and a graduate degree in public policyalong with his JD from the University of Virginia, hadbeen involved in mediation and arbitration throughouthis law career. It was during those earlier years of prac-tice that he realized the need for alternative dispute res-olution (ADR) services in Virginia. After retiring in1993, he took a year off and studied the ADR market.

“Conventional wisdom in Virginia was that alter-native dispute resolution wasn’t needed,” he says. “It

Summer 2006 23

Law alumni join The McCammon Group to craft solutions to complex problemsBy Joan Tupponce

Y

MediatorsThe

Above: (from left) E. Preston Grissom, R’57and L’60, William H.Ledbetter Jr., L’66, BillWood, L’66, Joseph E.Spruill Jr., R’55 and L’58,and F. Bruce Bach, L’67.


was widely recognized that the Virginia court system isNo. 1 in efficiency and integrity. I had to ask myself‘Why does a place like Virginia need ADR?’”

McCammon did not arrive immediately at a clear-cut answer. He concluded that there was not a strongdemand for arbitration. Mediation, on the other hand,was sorely needed. “It’s so hard to negotiate in warlikecircumstances,” he explains. “People need help andnegotiation is where it’s at. I felt that mediation had afuture.”

Mediation isn’t a new concept. Think back to theteachings of Confucius, who encouraged a mediatoryapproach when resolving disputes. Mediation has beenused to help resolve labor disputes since at least 1838,when President Martin Van Buren facilitated a laborsettlement.

Retired Judge E. Preston Grissom, R’57 and L’60,a member of The McCammon Group, was introducedto mediation when he was working in the juvenile anddomestic court system in Chesapeake. “We startedsome mediation programs involving spouses and fami-lies who were having problems,” he explains. “I couldsee where it had great potential.”

Today, many of Grissom’s mediations involve per-sonal injury cases and contractual and domestic disputes.

In those mediations, Grissom shares with the par-ties his thoughts on how the case is likely to play out incourt. “Each side gets the benefit of that,” he says.“During that stage each party can say things to helpthem feel like they have been heard, things that theythink are important.”

Reaching a settlement can take time,he adds. “It’s not unusual to go back andforth with offers 10 times. The mediatorhelps the parties, and the lawyers producethe results themselves. The reward comesat the end of the day—at times late in thenight—when the case can be broughttogether and the people leave shakinghands.”

McCammon maintains that media-tion is not a replacement for a trial. “It’san adjunct, a shot in the arm to negotia-tion,” he says.

The McCammon Group, the largestmediation group in the state, has 45mediators in Virginia and five inWashington, D.C. There are approxi-mately 1,000 Supreme Court certifiedmediators in Virginia.

Roughly half of McCammon’s mediators areretired judges. All others with the exception of Sen.Walter Stosch, R’59 and GB’84, are lawyers.

McCammon remembers when the initial group ofseven began offering mediation services. “It really wasuncharted waters,” he says. “People didn’t know whatto make of it. Lawyers were uneasy. It was somewhat ofa threat to them.”

The group handled four cases during the firstmonth of business in June 1995. Today, it handlesabout five cases a day and has a settlement rate of bet-ter than 85 percent. “We did more cases in 2005 thanthere were concluded jury trials in the state court sys-tems of Virginia,” McCammon says. “We have mediat-ed and arbitrated about $2.5 billion worth of disputes.”

Originally called The McCammon MediationGroup, McCammon changed the name when hebroadened the scope of the firm’s work. Along withmediation and arbitration services, the group has aFederal Dispute Resolution Division and a Facilitationand Training Division that works with government,businesses, and associations. Services include facilitat-ing negotiations and teaching communication andmanagement skills as well as conflict resolution andnegotiation skills.

“It’s all about collaboration, communicating toresolve conflict,” McCammon says. “You can applythose techniques in the workplace and the boardroom.”

Other areas of expertise such as private judging areon the horizon. “I believe that there are more processesemerging,” observes McCammon. “People want prob-

lems solved in more efficient and effective ways.”John G. Douglass, professor of law at Richmond

and a member of The McCammon Group, sees severaladvantages to mediating a case.

“It relieves the pressure on crowded court sys-tems,” he says. “Also, it’s more flexible than the processof litigation. You can craft solutions you can’t get in atrial. And it’s confidential. You can resolve your disputeand not have it publicized.”

When he first heard about the group, Douglass feltthat the venture would turn into something impressive.

“John is very energetic and creative,” he says. “Oneof the great rewards of being in the group is being asso-ciated with folks who are so experienced in the world oflitigation. Many have had impressive careers as judges.They can bring that experience to bear as a mediator.”

Retired Judge Joseph E. Spruill Jr., R’55 and L’58,was honored to join The McCammon Group. “My wifesays that I flunked retirement,” he says, laughing. “Iwork with the group whenever that call comes in. I usu-ally work once or twice a month. The cases are acrossthe board, sort of like the cases I heard as a judge.”

Spruill’s experiences with mediation have beenrewarding. “It’s great to see people come together andresolve something,” he explains. “It’s a good feeling toknow you have had a hand in getting a disputeresolved.”

Joining the group was a natural fit for retiredJudge Donald H. Kent, R’60 and L’63. “I had respectand admiration for John as a lawyer and administratorof The McCammon Group,” he says. “One of theattractions was the people John had working for him.”

When he was sitting as a judge in Alexandria, Kenthad used a form of mediation to resolve some cases. “Ienjoyed that settlement better than a trial,” he says. “Youcan resolve a matter to the satisfaction of all concerned.”

Mediation allows the parties to be open in dis-cussing the merits of their case and voicing their con-cerns to the other side.

“In court there are rules of evidence that restricttestimony but in mediation that is not true,” Kent says.“Years ago the Virginia Bar adopted a rule of profes-sional conduct that requires lawyers to discuss withtheir clients the possibility of mediating or arbitratingrather than going to court. Let them know that it is anavailable route they can take.”

The process also allows the parties to save money.“If we settle the case, we cut off the pipeline of cost plusthe cost of a trial,” McCammon says.

Retired Judge F. Bruce Bach, L’67, remembers one

case he mediated for the group where each side hadalready spent $350,000 on attorney fees. “I settled thecase in one day,” he recalls. “It was a heck of an eco-nomical way to do it. It’s a tremendous cost savings.You can’t take a large trial to court today for less than$100,000.”

It wasn’t until the end of his career on the benchthat retired Judge William H. Ledbetter Jr., L’66, beganto see the value in alternative dispute resolution. Sincejoining The McCammon Group, he has become a “truebeliever” in the process. “All of us in mediation want tosee the deal done,” he says. “We try very hard.”

The collaboration that has taken place betweenVirginia’s private and public sectors in the past 11 yearsdemonstrates the importance of mediation. “[Both sec-tors] have worked hard to address the challenges [posedby increasing demands on the judicial system] and haveturned things around dramatically,” McCammon says.

“The number of jury trails that take place each year inVirginia has gone down 60 percent in the last decade,in part due to mediation and arbitration.”

The process of mediation is a powerful tool, headds. “It’s so rewarding. It’s a work of love, a work ofpassion.” ■

Joan Tupponce is a freelance writer based in Richmond.

THE MEDIATORS

“[Mediation is] more flexible than the process of litigation. You can craft

solutions you can’t get in a trial.”

— John G. DouglassRichmond Law professor

“I enjoyed that settlement better than a trial. You can resolve a matter to the satisfaction of all concerned.”

— Judge Donald H. Kent, R’60 and L’63

the Commonwealth’s Attorneys’Service and Training Counsel.

In 1994, he was appointeddeputy attorney general forVirginia, heading theIntergovernmental Affairs Division.In 1995, he was named seniorcounsel to the attorney general.From 1999 to 2000, Felton servedas counselor to the governor anddirector of policy. In 2000, he wasnamed the A.L. PhilpottDistinguished Adjunct Professor ofLaw at the University of RichmondSchool of Law. He taught Law,Politics and Public Policy.

In 2002, he returned to the lawfaculty at William & Mary and wasappointed legislative counsel forthe college.

He was elected as a judge of theCourt of Appeals of Virginia and hasserved in that capacity since 2002.

The chief judge also plays anadministrative role with the court,overseeing court functions that “canbe routine,” Felton says, “but weneed to be efficient.” The 11 judges,along with six senior judges, usuallymove cases from oral argument torelease in 60 days.

Felton also serves as a member of the Judicial Council of Virginia and the ExecutiveCommittee of the JudicialConference of Virginia.

He has served in variouscapacities with the Virginia StateBar, and is a member of theCommission on Virginia Courts inthe 21st Century.

He lives in Williamsburg.

Jagdmann elected to seat on SCCFormer Virginia Attorney GeneralJudith Williams Jagdmann, L’84,has been elected by the GeneralAssembly a commissioner of theState Corporation Commission.The term runs for six years.

Jagdmann recently served asVirginia’s 43rd attorney general,taking that post when Jerry W.Kilgore stepped down to run forgovernor. From 1998 to 2005, shewas deputy attorney general forthe Civil Litigation Division.

Prior to joining the attorneygeneral’s office, she served 13 yearsas counsel to the SCC and its staffon securities and utility matters.

The SCC acts as one of Virginia’sprimary regulatory agencies, withoversight of varied business andeconomic interests.

Jagdmann and her husband,Joseph V. Jagdmann, L’86, have twochildren.

Judge Felton namedappeals court chiefJudge Walter S. Felton Jr., R’66 andL’69, has been elected chief judgeof the Virginia Court of Appeals,where he oversees the clerk’s office,staff attorneys, and a busy docket.

In a recent interview, JudgeFelton said he felt comfortable atthe appellate court. “It fits nicelywith my background in academia—reading and writing and research-ing. It’s a far different life from thetrial bench.”

A native of Suffolk, Va., Feltonhas led a distinguished career,beginning in his undergraduateyears. He obtained a bachelor’sdegree in English literature at theUniversity, where he was inductedinto Phi Beta Kappa and OmicronDelta Kappa. He earned his JDdegree at the Law School, where hewas chancellor of the McNeil LawSociety and articles editor of theUniversity of Richmond Law Review.

Upon graduation, Feltonserved four years as a captain inthe U.S. Army Judge AdvocateGeneral’s Corps.

He then entered private prac-tice until 1982, when he wasappointed to the faculty of theMarshall-Wythe School of Law. Healso was named administrator of

Recognizing significant alumni accomplishments

ALUMNI NEWS

Walter S. Felton Jr., R’66 and L’69, and JudithWilliams Jagdmann, L’84.

26 RICHMOND LAW

Key to Abbreviations

School of Arts and Sciences ..................................................A

Robins School of Business......................................................B

School of Continuing Studies...............................................C

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences .............................G

The Richard S. Reynolds Graduate School of the Robins School of Business.....................................GB

Honorary degree........................................................................H

Jepson School of Leadership Studies..................................J

University of Richmond School of Law .............................L

Richmond College......................................................................R

Westhampton College...........................................................W

Richmond Law magazine is looking for information on alumnito include in Class Notes. If you have news or if you would liketo gather and send news of your classmates, please contact us at [email protected] or Law Alumni, University ofRichmond School of Law, University of Richmond, VA 23173,(804) 289-8028.

Class news, alumni profiles and events

CLASS NOTES

1960sThe Hon. Harvey E. Schlesinger, L’65,has been named chairman of theCommunity Foundation in Jacksonville,Fla. He serves as U.S. District Courtjudge for the Middle District of Florida.

The Hon. Archer L. Yeatts III, R’64 andL’67, of Henrico County General DistrictCourt, is the grand president of SigmaPhi Epsilon fraternity. Sig Ep, which wasfounded at the University of Richmondin 1901, is the largest college fraternityin the country. It has more than 13,000undergraduate members.

The Hon. Walter Felton Jr., L’69, is chiefjudge of the Virginia Court of Appeals.A Suffolk native, he was elected to theintermediate appellate court by theGeneral Assembly in 2002. Prior to that,he served as then-Gov. Jim Gilmore’s

policy director and chief lawyer. (See related story in Alumni News on page 26.)

1970sBen R. Lacy IV, L’75, is a principal withSands Anderson Marks & Miller. Aschair of the firm’s governmental rela-tions practice group, he concentrates onthe life and health industry, includinginsurers, providers and agents. For thepast five years he has been recognizedin Virginia Business’s “Legal Elite” for hiswork in governmental relations law.

Peter J. Connors, L’76, a partner atOrrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in NewYork City, was elected in December2005, to the executive committee ofthe New York State Bar Association’sTax Section. He also was elected lastyear to the council of the ABA TaxSection and to the council of theInternational Fiscal Association, theleading organization for internationaltax professionals.

John Randolph “Randy” Nelson, L’76,was the first recipient of a new awardfrom the Virginia State Bar in apprecia-

tion of his extraordinary public serviceto the Supreme Court of Virginia.Nominated by his peers, he was recog-nized for his contributions to the courtthrough pro bono representation ofindigent criminal defendants and par-ties in child custody, abuse and neglectproceedings. He has been in privatepractice in Lynchburg, Va., since 1976.

Dale W. Pittman, L’76, chairs theConsumer Section of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He also is a member of the association’s board of governors.

Raymond A. Gill, L’77, a Woodbridge,N.J., certified civil trial attorney, hasbeen chosen as a “Super Lawyer” for2006 by New Jersey Super Lawyers mag-azine. Only 5 percent of all attorneys inNew Jersey earn this honor. In addition,he has been named one of 2006’s “Top10 Attorneys” in New Jersey in a pollconducted by Law & Politics magazine.He lectures frequently on innovationsin demonstrative evidence and trialtactics. He founded the firm Gill andChamas in 1986.

John N. Federspiel, L’78, is the directorof West Virginia’s Division of CriminalJustice Services, the state’s criminal jus-tice planning agency.

Thomas R. Klein, L’78, senior vice presi-dent of LandAmerica Financial Group,was elected chair of Beth AhabahMuseum and Archives, Richmond’sMuseum of Jewish History. Klein also is

Help secure the Law School’s long-termfinancial healthThe University of Richmond offers many gift options to those who want to include the Law School in their long-term philanthropic plans. These options provide both financial and tax rewards while making meaningful contributions to the school.

We are pleased to work with you and your financial advisors to design an appropriate plan.

For additional information, contact Nancy H. Phillips,director of Law Development, at (804) 289-8023 [email protected].

Summer 2006 27


CLASS NOTES

a member of the Spider Club Board, andhe serves on the board of the RichmondBusiness Council of the GreaterRichmond Chamber of Commerce.

1980sPhyllis C. Katz, L’82, is a member of theemployment and local governmentteam at Sands Anderson Marks &Miller. She serves on the board of LINC(Legal Information Network for Cancer),which she founded. She also is on theadvisory board for the Massey CancerCenter, is an adjunct professor at theUniversity and serves as a faculty mem-ber of the Non-Profit ManagementProgram at VCU. She has been selectedby her peers for inclusion in VirginiaBusiness magazine’s list of Virginia’s“Legal Elite.”

Brenda L. Page, L’82, a principal at Page& Associates in Richmond, was recog-nized as an advocate by the NationalCollege of Advocacy AchievementRecognition Program of the Associationof Trial Lawyers of America.

Nancy G. Parr, L’83, has been electedcommonwealth’s attorney for the cityof Chesapeake, Va.

John R. Bode, L’85, chairs the labor andemployment department of Miller &Martin, a full-service firm with officesin Atlanta, Chattanooga and Nashville,Tenn. He and his family reside inChattanooga.

Mark Sheridan Brennan Sr., L’86, is withVandeventer Black in Richmond. Helives in Midlothian, Va.

Davie Garrison, L’89, of the WestChester, Pa., firm of GawthropGreenwood, participated on a panelwith two other leading experts in thefield of indoor air quality at theGovernor’s Occupational Safety andHeath Conference in Hershey, Pa., lastNovember. Co-founder and co-chair ofthe Environmental Law Section of theChester County Bar Association, Garrisonhas made presentations and written ontopics such as environmental risk avoid-ance, Superfund, agricultural pollutionand environmental contracting.

ALUMNI PROFILE

Long-term commitments workfor alumni couple

In 43 years of marriage and two law careers,Michael Rigsby, L’69, and Linda Rigsby, L’81, haveappreciated long-term relationships with oneanother and the Law School.

They married as teenagers in 1963, before mov-ing to Blacksburg, Va., where Michael attendedVirginia Tech and Linda went to Radford. The cou-ple had a son by the time Michael graduated.Although he had a degree in engineering, Michaelwanted to study law. Linda’s father, the founder ofFarm Bureau Insurance Co., inspired him. “He was abusinessman who used his law degree as a catalystfor starting his business.”

While Michael was in Law School, Linda earnedher degree in music at Virginia CommonwealthUniversity. Michael completed law school in just twoyears. “With a toddler and another one on the way,”

he says, “the pressure was on to finish school and get working.” (Thesecond child, Elisabeth, graduated from the University in 1991.)

Michael worked at the State Corporation Commission beforeentering private practice. Linda taught piano lessons for 10 yearsuntil, she says, “I began to crave a little more of a challenge.”

Michael went to work at the Virginia State Bar, where “the paywas more stable.” For years, he was familiar to lawyers around thestate as bar counsel. His responsibilities included heading the bar’sprofessional regulatory department.

Linda took her turn at the Law School. After graduation, Linda went to work at McGuire, Woods,

Battle & Boothe (now McGuireWoods). One afternoon a friendstopped her on the street and told her that Crestar Bank was start-ing a legal division and needed a second in command. She madethe jump to the corporate world.

For a mother, she says, the change was superb. “I wanted to behome more with my teens, and this made it possible.”

Twenty-one years later, Linda leads the Richmond legal depart-ment at SunTrust bank, Crestar’s corporate successor. She also vol-unteers for numerous organizations, including the University’sEstate Planning Advisory Council. The University presented herwith a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1986.

For more than two decades, Michael taught at the Law School.He remained at the State Bar until February 1998. A month later,he was back in private practice at Carrell Rice & Rigsby.

The Rigsbys say they are astonished at the improvements atthe school. But the sense of community has not changed.

“It is important for students to have those relationships,”Michael says. “And lawyers want to be accessible to the new folks.After all, they energize us ‘old folks.’”

By Mary Gravely, W’88

CLASS NOTES

Greg McCracken, L’89, joined his wife,Michelle McCracken, L’89, and Morris H.Fine in the Virginia Beach law firm ofFine, Fine, Legum & McCracken. Hispractice will concentrate on claimsagainst the U.S. government under theFederal Torts Claims Act.

Ben Riggs, L’89, is general counsel atFour Season Produce in Lancaster, Pa.

1990sTodd M. Lynn, L’91, is a partner atPatten, Wornom, Hatten andDiamonstein.

Todd Preti, L’92, is a shareholder atMidgett & Preti in Virginia Beach. Hispractice includes the areas of estateplanning, probate and trust adminis-tration, fiduciary litigation, elder law,and small business planning. He hasserved as an adjunct professor of lawat Regent University, where he taughtclasses on mergers and acquisitions. Inaddition to serving on the executiveboard of the Hampton Roads EstatePlanning Council, he is president of the

Hampton Roads Gift Planning Council,and is past president of the AmericanAcademy of Trust, Estate and Elder LawAttorneys.

James M. Wilson, L’92, has joined hislaw practice with David J. Stoyanoff toform Wilson Stoyanoff in Glen Allen, Va.The firm focuses on small business,franchising, estate planning, tax mat-ters and business transactions.

Hugh E. Aaron, L’93, practices withHealthcare Regulatory Advisors Inc., afour-lawyer firm in Glen Allen, Va. Hispractice is focused on areas includingmedical coding and the Medicare pro-gram. He also is president of HRAICoding Specialists, a firm that providesintensive professional training and con-sulting nationwide on medical codingand Medicare billing compliance. InMarch 2005, he served on the facultyfor the American Health LawyersAssociation’s Annual Institute onMedicare and Medicaid PaymentIssues. He has served as instructor orco-instructor for the Law School’shealth care regulation class and recent-ly published “The Effect of HospitalCharges on Outlier Payments UnderMedicare’s Inpatient ProspectivePayment System: Prudent FinancialManagement or Illegal Conduct?” inthe June 2005 Annals of Health Law.

W. Scott Magargee IV, L’93, was nameda “Pennsylvania Rising Star” by thePhiladelphia-based magazine Law &Politics.

Jeremy Sohn, L’93, is a partner at Snell& Wilmer in Tucson, Ariz.

David A. Damiani, L’94, earned his M.B.A.in May 2005, from the University ofMichigan’s Stephen M. Ross School ofBusiness. He practices law in Alexandria,Va., with his brother, Tony Damiani.

David W. Hearn, L’94, is a principal atSands Anderson Marks & Miller, wherehe serves in the firm’s risk manage-ment practice group. His practice focus-es on defending private companies,Virginia insurers and their clients ingeneral liability, toxic tort, products lia-bility and insurance coverage cases instate and federal courts. He has beenselected by his peers for inclusion inVirginia Business magazine’s list ofVirginia’s “Legal Elite.”

Nicole Beyer Rovner, L’94, has beenappointed deputy secretary of naturalresources by Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine.

Sandra L. Haley, L’95, and her husband,Mike, welcomed son Gabriel Lucas onFeb. 23, 2006. He joins brother Ethan.Haley recently was appointed to theMartinsville City School Board.

The Hon. Ashley Keesee Tunner, L’95,was elected to a Juvenile and DomesticRelations District Court judgeship of the13th Judicial District (city of Richmond).

David J. Walton, L’95, was named a“Pennsylvania Rising Star” by thePhiladelphia-based magazine Law &Politics. In October 2005, he presented a

Send your news!Write to [email protected] or Law Alumni,University of Richmond LawSchool, University of Richmond, VA 23173.

Law alumni, faculty, andstaff participated in a

Young Grads Associationmeeting in May, where

they received an updateon the progress of the

Intellectual PropertyInstitute. (From left) young

grads vice presidentDevon W. Cushman, L’03,president Eric A. Gregory,

R’96 and L’02, and institute director

Jim Gibson.

30 RICHMOND LAW Summer 2006 31

CLASS NOTES

seminar, “HR/Personnel Management,”at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber ofCommerce Supplier Network Fall Series.An attorney in Cozen O’Connor’sPhiladelphia office, his practice is con-centrated on employment litigation.

Greg Golden, L’96, and Jennifer ScottGolden, L’97, welcomed Blake Gregory,who was born Dec. 15, 2005. He joinsolder brother, John.

Carlos L. Hopkins, L’96, recently openedHopkins Law Offices. His firm empha-sizes criminal defense and general civillitigation. Also a judge advocate in theVirginia Army National Guard, Hopkinsserved seven years as a deputy com-monwealth’s attorney for the City ofRichmond.

Ranakdevi Chudasama, L’97, has joinedthe firm of Kossoff & Unger, which con-centrates on complex real estate litiga-

tion and transactions. She is a memberof the Queens County (N.Y) Women’sBar Association.

Jonathan D. Frieden, L’97, and his wife,Jennifer, welcomed their first child,Hannah Grace, on Feb. 4, 2005. Anattorney at Odin Feldman Pittleman,Frieden recently was named to VirginiaBusiness magazine’s “Legal Elite” in theyoung lawyer category. His commen-tary on cases has been featured onNBC and CBS news programs, and hehas been quoted in the WashingtonPost, the Washington Times, on Websites and in other newspapers aroundthe county.

Diana Leigh Johnson, L’97, is a partnerat Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love inCharleston, W.Va.

Russell Nance, L’97, is special counsel inthe tax department at Cadwalader,Wickersham & Taft in New York City.

Sherrill Ann Oates, L’97, is vice presi-dent and counsel of Lehman BrothersBank and Lehman Affiliate BNCMortgage Inc. of Irvine, Calif.

Steven A. Taylor, L’97, was appointed byRichmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder tothe board of commissioners for theRichmond Hospital Authority.

Joshua H. Rahman, L’98, James A.Schettine, R’01 and L’04, and Nhon H.Nguyen, L’04, have formed the law firm

of Rahman & Schettine in Richmond.The firm assists clients with collections,commercial and residential real estatematters, construction law, business law,general litigation, entertainment lawand equine law.

William Woodward Webb Jr., L’98, andhis wife, Jenna, welcomed twins WilliamWoodward Webb III and MargaretCarson Grimes Webb on Nov. 24, 2005.

Maria De Guzman Aguila, L’99, is pro-gram manager of the legal council atJacksonville Area Legal Aid Inc.’s FairHousing Advocacy Center inJacksonville, Fla.

Gregory R. Bishop, L’99, a member of thebusiness section at Williams Mullen, hasbeen named a partner in the firm. Hispractice focuses primarily on mergersand acquisitions, and other corporateand securities transactions. He also pro-vides clients with general businesscounsel and long-range planning.

Lauren M. Ebersole, L’99, is a partner atMorris & Morris.

Troy Savenko, L’99, is a partner withLeClair Ryan.

2000sTimothy L. Gorzycki, L’01, is with thefirm Wayne G. Tatusko PC in Fairfax, Va.The firm specializes in commercial realestate, finance and complex ventureformation.

Jennifer Kazzie, L’01, and her husband,David, celebrated the birth of their son,Jake William Kazzie, on July 20, 2005.

R. Thomas Payne II, L’01, is an associateattorney general at the Office of theAttorney General at the Virginia FairHousing Board. He is counsel to theVirginia Fair Housing Board andenforces the Virginia Fair Housing Lawin state and federal courts.

Kelly A. Bryant, L’02, has joined Parrish,Houck & Snead in Fredericksburg, Va.,as an associate.

Save the date!On October 20 and 21, the Law School will host its annual Alumni Weekend and Fall Gathering. This is reunion year for the classes from 1956 to 2001, ending in “6” and “1.” Join us!

CLASS NOTES

Ashton Marie Jennette, L’02, andAndrew Christopher Harris, L’05, weremarried on Dec. 3, 2005, at CanonChapel. The Honorable L.A. Harris, Jr.,L’76, father of the groom, served asboth the officiant and the best man.The wedding party included Amanda R.Beasley, L’02, Johanna E. Bragg, L’02,Jennifer C. Giles, L’03, and Daniel B.Schy, L’05. Guests included severalother law school classmates. The cou-ple lives in Richmond.

Chris Peace, L’02, won the special elec-tion in January for the Virginia Houseof Delegate’s 97th District.

Jamie Brown Sexton, L’02, married JohnT. Sexton on March 5, 2005. The couplelives in Richmond where she is with T.Michael Blanks Jr. & Associates.

Warren Teller, L’02, joined the Richmondlaw firm Spinella Owings & Shaia. Hepractices in the firm’s real estate group,and represents small business andentertainment clients. He and his wifeJessie had their first child, AnnabelleKatherine Teller, on Aug. 23, 2005.

Robert J. Allen, L’03, has joined StrotherLaw Offices in Richmond. His practicewill focus on complex land-use andzoning cases, Alcoholic BeverageControl law and the representation ofchildren.

Christian B. Franklin, L’03, has beennamed partner at Parrish, Houck &Snead in Fredericksburg, Va.

Charlie Homiller, L’03, is the focus of anarticle on representation agreementsfor solo practitioners in the January2006, ABA Journal.

Kelley M. Wynne, L’03, is an associate atSpotts Fain.

Ralph G. Brabham, L’04, is an associatewith Arent Fox in Washington, D.C.

James Madison Metcalfe, L’04, marriedDr. Andrea Rahn, a Navy doctor, on July10, 2005. He completed his judicial clerk-ship in the Circuit Court of Fairfax, Va.,in August and joined his wife in Guam.Shortly thereafter, Jim, a Navy ReserveSupply Corps officer, was assigned to

ALUMNI PROFILE

Women lawyers advancethrough achievements

Just out of law school, Virginia Hackney, L’69,thought she was well prepared when she walkedinto an interview with a prominent Virginia Beachlaw firm. But before she hit the chair, her would-beemployers told her, “Sorry. We can’t hire a woman.”

Hackney had graduated from law school as oneof three women in a class of 90. In the legal com-munity she was seeking to join, there were fewwomen lawyers. “Among big firms at that time,

there were no women,” Hackney recalls. Over the course of thenext three decades, she would see dramatic changes.

Hackney’s career finally began with advice from formerRichmond Law Dean William Taylor Muse. “Go down and talk to thefolks at Hunton & Williams,” he suggested. She did and she washired as a law clerk doing research for the firm’s litigation section.

“It got me in the door,” she says. Three months later, Hackney was promoted to litigation asso-

ciate, handling cases on her own and working with senior lawyerson bigger cases. As a female at the firm, “I was out there on myown,” she says.

When the first of her three sons was born, “A partner told meit wasn’t possible to be a mother and be in litigation,” she says. “Itwouldn’t have occurred to me to argue with him. That just wasn’thow things were done.” She moved to the corporate team, intobanking and “a little health care.” Today Hackney leads the 850-lawyer firm’s health care team.

In 1977, Hackney became the first female partner in Hunton &Williams’ history. That title “was really wonderful,” she says, “butmore importantly, it meant that I had to work even harder to provemyself.”

In the years since then, women have entered the profession inincreasing numbers, and though they are no longer a tiny minori-ty, a gap remains in terms of the number of women in leadershiproles at law firms and elsewhere in the profession.

Women will close that gap “only by achievement,” she says.“Achievement takes a great deal of hard work, talent and the sup-port of many other people.”

Hackney acknowledges those who contributed to her success.Among them are other lawyers and judges she has worked with,her husband, who also is an attorney, her father, who treated herand her sister as if they were “just about the greatest things thatever walked on earth,” and the women in her family, including hermother and her grandmother who, at 4 foot 11 inches, “was justabout as strong and smart as could be.”

“I give Dean Muse full credit for my winding up here [atHunton & Williams].” He and others on the law faculty, includingHarry Snead and Ray Doubles, “brought the law to life.”

By Mary Gravely, W’88

IN MEMORIAMA. Lewis Allen, L’62November 6, 2005

Alfred Bernard III, L’65November 11, 2005

Harry Edward Cohn, L’85October 13, 2005

Charles Fetter, L’42February 2, 2006

John T. Green, L’49December 21, 2005

Frank W. Hardy, L’50November 10, 2005

Albert Henry “Buck” Jacoby Jr.,L’74February 22, 2006

Conard Blount Mattox III, R’71and L’76March 18, 2006

Sebastian “Guy” Mazzarella, L’93December 4, 2005

Marcus Duncan Minton Sr., L’66December 3, 2005

Nanette H. Pointon, L’83October 11, 2005

W. Wayne Tiffany, R’63 and L’66January 6, 2005

Earl E. Tinney, L’56September 16, 2004

Theophlise L. Twitty, L’80November 3, 2005

John Thurston Wassom, L’41January 15, 2006

Stephen Graham White, R’53and L’55October 9, 2005

32 RICHMOND LAW

CLASS NOTES

the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. He com-pleted his training with other Navy per-sonnel and was deployed toAfghanistan in February 2006.

Nhon H. Nguyen, L’04, with Joshua H.Rahman, L’98, and James A. Schettine,R’01 and L’04, have formed the law firmof Rahman & Schettine in Richmond.The firm assists clients with collections,commercial and residential real estatematters, construction law, business law,general litigation, entertainment lawand equine law.

Rebecca H. Royals, L’04, has joinedButler, Williams & Skilling PC inRichmond. She previously clerked forthe firm for several years. Her practicewill focus on civil litigation includingemployment law, civil rights, insurancedefense, and intellectual property.

Meredith Lowe Bolton, L’05, is withHodgson Russ LLP in Buffalo, N.Y. Shecounsels public and private clients on awide range of matters related to laborand employment law. She worked pre-viously with two Fortune 500 compa-nies in marketing and sales.

P. Matthew Roberts, L’05, is an associ-ate at Berkeley & DeGaetani.

Meredith M. Voliva, L’05, has moved toThe Netherlands following her mar-riage to a Dutch national.

Irene C. Wilkins, L’05, has joined theHenrico County Commonwealth’sAttorney’s office.

ALUMNI PROFILE

Translation business finds growing market

Two Richmond law graduates have developed athriving business in a world where business increas-ingly means dealing with different nations, culturesand languages. They are providing translation serv-ices to legal, business and other professional clients.

The idea arose when Richard Estevez, L’95, abilingual lawyer working in Washington, D.C., keptcoming across translations his law firm had pur-chased that were not up to his expectations.

“They weren’t always professional, and theycost too much,” says Estevez, whose mother hailsfrom Colombia and whose father is a native ofCuba. “I could see there was a market for high-qual-ity, reasonably priced translation services.”

After beginning his career practicing interna-tional and telecommunications law, Estevez wentto work for SkyOnline, a McLean, Va.-based providerof telecommunications services to Latin America. In

his work, he identified a cadre of certified translators living in LatinAmerica, Europe, and the United States who were proficient in law,medicine or engineering, among other technical fields. Soon, hebecame aware that he had developed a talent bank for whichthere was increasing demand.

Almost four years ago, Estevez launched Trusted TranslationsInc. (www.trustedtranslations.com).

“Our goal is to be the No. 1 company in the world offering thefinest high-volume, technical English-Spanish translation servicesat the best prices,” says Estevez, whose business is based in FallsChurch, Va. “We also translate other languages including French,German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese.”

Trusted Translations brings together teams of translators whowork from centers around the world.

The firm’s client list is a Who’s Who in international business:banks, accounting firms, investment houses, law firms and auto-mobile manufacturers—even the United Nations.

Trusted Translations became a family affair two years agowhen Liliana Ward, L’93, joined the company as director of opera-tions. “She’s an incredibly gifted linguist, much better at the subtlenuances of language than I am,” Estevez says of his sister, whopracticed law for 10 years.

“Both Richard and I started translating, as children, for mygrandparents,” Liliana says. “Today, accurate and efficient transla-tions services are becoming a necessity.

“In law, we argue the meaning of common words all the time,”she says. “Precision in language is crucial to all types of legalwork,” and precise translations are a necessity when parties tolegal proceedings speak different languages.

By Cathy L. Eberly

Date post:	06-Apr-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	ur-scholarship-repository
View:	213 times
Download:	0 times

Summer2006

Documents